“Eat Beet, not Meat”..Balls

Kind of a weird one making this if you are veggie or vegan. Rolling the beetroot mixture into beet balls is like rolling mince beef, which after a few veggie years freaked me out a wee bit. But the taste far outweighs this and so they pack a real hearty, meaty punch.

I make them as part of a salad or to stuff into pitta breads as a giant beety sandwich.

1/2 cup lentils (green, brown or puy)

1/2 of bulger wheat or quinoa

2/3 cup of quick cook oats

1/2 chopped onion

250g shredded cooked beetroot

1tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp ketchup

2 tsps smoked sweet paprika

1 tsp of dried thyme

1 tsp dried oregano

S&P to taste

1 1/2 cups veggie stock

I buy the pre-cooked beetroot in packs and chop in my food mixer-I mean who really has time to roast beetroot, it takes forever.

Construction: Add the stock, lentils and thyme to a pot. Bring to the boil and, then simmer until nearly cooked. Add in the buckwheat/quinoa, cover and set aside until al the liquid is absorbed. Combine the shredded beetroot, onion, herbs, seasoing, ketchup, oil and oats in a bowl. Once the lentil mixture is cooked, combine with the beet mixture. If the mixture is if very wet add more oats, until you get a mixture that combines together well. And in the words of Limp Biscut, “get rollin, rollin, rollin“. You can use an ice cream scoop to get round balls or just roll in your hands, which I find easier and less faffy. Place on a lined baking tin, spray with some oil and put in the oven for around 30 mins, until the outsides go crispy. I usually manage to get around 9 large balls from the mixture. If you are wanting to stuff them in pitta pockets, maybe make them smaller.Serve with a salad and some homemade sweet potato fries and a kicking salad dressing poured over the top, such as this vegan thousand island tangy sauce.